Biography

My research is focussed on the role of metals, especially iron, on brain ageing and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as interactions with inflammation and/or peripheral metabolic dysfunction, such as in obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. My Phenomics Lab develop and employ magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy (MRI, MRS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics, and metallomics/elementomics mapping and spectroscopy; alongside other biological/molecular techniques and behaviour to characterise phenomes of human disease and experimental models. I am an editor and contributing author of the Biological Section of ‘Modern Magnetic Resonance’ (2016; 2nd edition, Springer); and contributing author in ‘Essential Bioimaging methods’ (2009, Academic Press). I am also Departmental Admissions Tutor, Leader of the module on Neurodegenerative Disorders & Mechanisms in BSc Psychology and was module leader for ‘Practical Neuroimaging’ in the Departmental MSc. 

Please see my Research Staff Profile for more detail.

Key Publications:

• Ashraf et al., 2020. Iron dyshomeostasis, lipid peroxidation and perturbed expression of cystine/glutamate antiporter in Alzheimer's disease: Evidence of ferroptosis. Redox Biology.
• Ashraf et al., 2020. Regional distributions of iron, copper and zinc and their relationships with glia in a normal ageing mouse model. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
• Ashraf et al., 2018. The ageing of iron man. Frontiers of Ageing Neuroscience.
• Ashraf et al., 2018. Pattern of altered plasma elemental phosphorous, calcium, selenium, iron and zinc in Alzheimer’s Disease. Scientific Reports.
• Gardner et al., 2018 Developing and Standardising a Protocol for Quantitative Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (H-NMR) Spectroscopy of Saliva. Journal of Proteome Research.

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Key Collaborators:

• Dr Guy Carpenter, King's College London
• Prof Jimmy Bell, University of Westminster
• Professor Dag Aarsland, King's College London
• Dr Maria Deprez, King's College London